European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Tuesday announced that he will proceed with the establishment of “task forces” in eight EU members, including Greece, where unemployment for young adults under the age of 25 is higher than 30 pct. The initiative, to be implemented in Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovakia, comes within the framework of an effort to combat youth unemployment, which has assumed alarming dimensions across much of Europe.

Each country should be responsible for its fiscal and other policies, otherwise democracy in all of Europe will be undermined, PASOK leader and former prime minister George Papandreou said on Monday in Brussels, asked to comment on a German proposal for the appointment of a special commissioner to monitor implementation of the Greek budget.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos reiterated on Sunday afternoon that political leaders supporting his interim government "are in absolute convergence with the continuation of (PSI) negotiations and the positions we shall support." Speaking after a two-and-a-half meeting at the Maximos Mansion, he said " unity of political forces and their commitment to support necessary changes constitutes a substantive factor of reliability; they strengthen the effectiveness of economic policy and permit us to negotiate better terms." Papademos also referred to a "tough struggle" to secure the country's position in Europe, the euro and the community of developed countries.